KOROR STATE GOVERNMENT MARINE TOUR GUIDE ... - C3

As a result the Traditional Leaders requested the Koror State executive and legislative
branches to work with them to gain the support and cooperation of interested parties and
improve management of the area. The Sixth Koror State Legislature, recognizing the
local, national and international significance of the Management Area, passed a
resolution calling for an integrated management plan for the conservation of its
resources. The governor then appointed an executive committee to oversee the
development of a comprehensive management plan. The Koror State Department of
Conservation and Law Enforcement developed the management plan with assistance
from The Nature Conservancy and Palau Conservation Society.
The department was founded in 1994 and consists of trained, ranked and uniformed
rangers that maintain law and order, as well as preserve the unique natural resources of
the state. It also has a “Rock Islands Facelift Program”, which is responsible for
maintaining the tourist activity areas in the Management Area and a Coastal Resources
Management Office, whose primary focus has been the development of a
comprehensive Management Plan for the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon Area and will
lead its implementation. The Tour Guide Certification Training Program is the
responsibility of this department and is part of the department’s education and capacity
building program, supplementing the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon Area Management
Plan.
1.2.3 Land and Sea Tenure
Traditionally, Palauan land was divided into political units called beluu, or villages.
Boundaries were in flux, determined by warfare and other factors, and generally
extended as far out to the sea as one could travel by canoe and still see the islands.
The territory of each beluu was divided into clan lands, chetemel a blai, and public
domain land, chutem buai. Public domain land, which comprised the bulk of the land in
Palau, was land not claimed by any clan, lineage, or individual. This land was managed
by the village council. Land owned by clans and lineages comprised less then half of
Palau’s land. Alienation of clan land could be done via trade, sale, mortgage, service
reward, marriage exchange, or punitive fine, and with the exception of the last option,
could not be alienated without the approval of the strong members of the clan.
Palau was governed by a series of occupying powers during most of this century, and
these governments took large portions of Palauan land under their control. Land not
being used at the time, regardless of ownership, was taken as public land. What was
not declared public was registered as private in the official land registry under the names
of individuals. This was done regardless of whether the land had belonged to an
individual or to his or her clan or lineage.
Today land in Palau is owned either privately – by individuals, clans, or lineages, or
publicly – by the national or state governments. With Palau’s recent independence,
there has been a move to return wrongfully taken land to its original owners.
The Palauan Land Court, created in the Land Claims Reorganization Act of 1996, is
responsible for determining ownership of all land within the Republic. The goal is that by
the end of the century, all land once owned by individuals, clans, or lineages will have
been returned to those persons or groups and the remaining land will be public domain.
Public land is managed by the Palau Public Land Authority and eventually will be
transferred to each of the state public land authorities.
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